After a recent data breach, patients at Seattle Cancer Center report receiving threat emails

After experiencing a data breach on November 19, the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, based in Seattle, has advised patients to remain vigilant by monitoring bank statements and credit reports. Following the breach, a segment of the healthcare system's clinical network was compromised, potentially exposing patient data. 

This week, certain former and current patients reported receiving threatening emails asserting that the personal information of over 800,000 patients, including names, Social Security numbers, and medical histories, had been compromised. The emails suggested that the stolen data would be offered for sale.

 While the center's associate vice president of communications, Christina VerHeul, couldn't estimate the number of affected individuals, an ongoing investigation is in progress. In response to the hack, the center promptly took its clinical network offline, informed federal law enforcement, and enlisted the services of a forensic security firm for further investigation. 

Patients were strongly advised to monitor their bank statements and credit reports for any suspicious activity. Additionally, individuals who received threatening or suspicious calls and emails were urged to report such incidents to the FBI, block senders, and delete the messages. The center emphasized that if a message demanded a ransom, it should not be paid.